Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Marc Dion: Trump's World! Excellent! Party On! (Creators Syndicate)
So, Donald Trump, who's, like, leader of the free world and stuff, goes on Twitter and says, in part, "Thought it was going to be a smooth transition - NOT!" Pure "Wayne's World."
Froma Harrop: Cocktail Culture: Meditation by Other Means (Creators Syndicate)
Said DeVoto at his wisest, "This is an hour of diminishing, of slowing down, of quieting." Sounds like meditation, doesn't it?
Froma Harrop: Trump's Favorite Targets Are Republicans (Creators Syndicate)
Donald Trump has inspired so much fear among his Republican comrades that he no longer has to issue harsh tweets when they misbehave. They do it themselves.
Lenore Skenazy: To Live or to Die Trying (Creators Syndicate)
A few years ago, a firefighter in Sacramento, California, Mike DeBartoli, noticed his hands cramping up. He figured it was a symptom of the job. But when the cramps got worse, he went to his doctor and heard the three letters no one wants to hear: ALS. DeBartoli has Lou Gehrig's disease, a disease that robs the body of its ability to function and is always fatal. Unless…
'She'll never realise the impact she had': life-changing conversations (The Guardian)
We asked readers to tell us about their most significant conversation, or a letter that changed them. Here are our favourites.
Clive James: 'Even the most trite Netflix drama is too slick to be ignored' (The Guardian)
There was once some hope of turning off the set and reading a book.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 80 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
said:
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Comment
2017 Fear
Reading the story about Arizona Rep. Trent Franks being OK with Russian hacks as they did a "service" to the American public, I can only hope that they "service him" with no lubricant! He likes it so much, let them invade his privacy and open up every aspect of his miserable little life to the freaking universe. A POX on His Orangeness, this ass, and ALL the Russian puppet/traitors!
My 2017 fear
What a horrifying view!
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Used Book Sale
Went to the local library used book sale over a year ago,
recently finished reading this book in my (--ahem--) study.
Was reinstalling the dust cover and discovered this label,
that I had previously overlooked (for some reason it just didn't click)
Granted it is a sticker signed book, not flat signed
But hey, it was a buck at the sale. and now worth a fortune to me,
I was a kid in grade school and watched his launch live on TV.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that
someone would have donated this book to a used book sale.
Although my collection of Clinton "MY LIFE" books now numbers
14, all from the same library's used book sale.
3 of which I was able to have signed by Bill at local events.
His last visit to town weeks before the disaster I had 2 other books
signed with comments by Bill.
A blind chicken finds a worm once in a while.
Gary in PA
Side note: I found another can-o -worms meme you might like
Thanks, Gary!
from Marc Perkel
Patriot Act
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
"DAVID CROSBY DOES NOT GIVE A SINGLE FUCK."
ANTI-SEMITIC ZIONIST!
"MAKE AMERICA WHITE AGAIN!"
"FANCY BEAR AND COZY BEAR."
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
More rain.
42nd Annual
List of Banished Words
You, sir, (or ma'am): Focus, if you will, on a historic, on fleek listicle containing words nominated for bigly banishment. But don't convene a town hall meeting or get your dandruff up in the echo chamber over them.
Northern Michigan's Lake Superior State University on Saturday released its 42nd annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness.
The tongue-in-cheek, non-binding list comes from suggestions to the Sault Ste. Marie school. It includes "you, sir," ''focus," ''town hall meeting," ''historic," ''echo chamber," ''on fleek," ''bigly," ''listicle" and "get your dandruff up," an apparent substitute for "dander," its hair-and-skin kin.
The others were "Frankenfruit," ''bête noire," ''guesstimate," ''ghost," ''dadbod," ''selfie drone," ''manicured," ''post-truth," ''disruption" and "831" - a texting encryption of "I love you" (eight letters, three words, one meaning).
"Bigly" also made Merriam-Webster's Top 10 for 2016. President-elect Donald Trump was fond this year of saying "big league" but making it sound like "bigly," an archaic adverb or adjective dating to around 1400.
List of Banished Words
New Year's Honours List
QE II
Olympic athlete Mo Farah, tennis star Andy Murray, actor Mark Rylance, comedian Ken Dodd and Kinks musician Ray Davies have been knighted in Queen Elizabeth's New Year's Honours List.
Spice Girl and designer Victoria Beckham was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) while other fashion notables included Anna Wintour editor-in-chief of "American Vogue" and accessories designer, Anya Hindmarch.
The biannual honours list is released on the Queen's official birthday in June and at the end of each year.
Many British sporting stars of the 2016 Rio Olympics and Paralympics were recognised including damehoods for athlete Jessica Ennis-Hill who retired after the games and rower Katherine Grainger, the first female Olympian to win five medals at five games.
Sir Roger Bannister, the first man to run a mile in under four minutes in 1954 was made a Companion of Honour, one of the Queen's highest awards.
QE II
Cinderella Opera
Alma Deutscher
An 11-year-old British girl has spoken of her immense pride after her opera was given a standing ovation in Vienna where it is playing as part of year end celebrations.
Alma Deutscher's own take on Cinderella involves a poet prince being charmed by the melody of a female composer, rather than the singing of her pretentious two half-sisters.
The characters are played by adults, with Alma accompanying them on the violin in some scenes. Thursday evening's premiere at the city's Casino Baumgarten Concert Hall was packed.
The opera will be performed again in Vienna on Friday as well as on January 4 and January 5.
The conductors Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta and Simon Rattle have spoken glowingly about Deutscher's talent.
Alma Deutscher
US Postal Service
Oscar de la Renta
The late fashion designer Oscar de la Renta is set to feature on a series of US postage stamps next year.
The celebrity designer, who passed away in 2014, has been selected by the US Postal Service to appear on 11 different stamps designed by art director Derry Noyes. Ten of these will feature details of his famous gowns, while the eleventh will feature a black-and-white portrait of de la Renta himself.
"The new year is shaping up to be exceptional as the Postal Service continues to produce stamps that celebrate the people, events and cultural milestones that are unique to the history of our great nation," said Mary-Anne Penner, U.S. Postal Service Director, Stamp Services, in a statement.
De la Renta, who was born in the Dominican Republic but became a pioneer of the New York fashion scene, started his fashion career under the guidance of Cristóbal Balenciaga in Madrid, before moving to Lanvin in Paris. He set up his eponymous label in 1965 and swiftly reached global fame, thanks to his talent for dressing some of the most famous women in the world, such as Jacqueline Kennedy and multiple other First Ladies of the US. His expansion into bridalwear and his stint as chief designer at Balmain from 1993 to 2002 further cemented his star status.
Oscar de la Renta
Allows Wolf Hunt
Sweden
A top Swedish court on Friday allowed the hunting of 24 wolves early next year in a decision slammed by environmental campaigners who fear a shooting spree could put the species at risk.
"This is an unfortunate and surprising decision," Torbjorn Nilsson, chairman of the Swedish Carnivore Association, said in a statement.
The Supreme Administrative Court ruled that hunting 24 wolves in four territories of central Sweden was justified despite appeals by environmental campaigners.
"We regret but respect the decision," Johanna Sandahl, chairman of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation said in a statement.
However, Sandahl said the court did not take into consideration the fact that the wolf population had dropped by 18 percent, and warned that the species was at risk of becoming endangered.
Sweden
Blogger Seeking U.S. Asylum
Singapore
A Singaporean blogger who is seeking political asylum in the United States said on Friday he regretted inflammatory posts that landed him in jail twice in his home country.
Amos Yee, 18, who is currently detained in Illinois, told Reuters that videos he filmed insulting Singapore's late prime minister and various religions were in bad taste.
Yee's posts, and subsequent trials and convictions in Singapore, have stirred debate in the conservative city-state over censorship and free speech. His trials were watched closely by rights groups as well as the United Nations.
Last year, Yee was convicted on charges of harassment and insulting a religious group over comments he made about former Singaporean Premier Lee Kuan Yew and Christians soon after Lee's death. His sentence amounted to four weeks in jail.
Yee arrived at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Dec. 16 and told U.S. Customs officials he was seeking political asylum.
Singapore
Independent Catholic Church
China
Catholics in China should build a more independent, socialist church, a senior Beijing official has said, as the government remains at odds with the Vatican on the issue of ordaining bishops.
The country's roughly 12 million believers are divided between those loyal to Beijing, whose clergy are chosen by the Communist Party, and members of a so-called "underground" church which swears allegiance to the Vatican.
The Holy See and Beijing have not had diplomatic ties since 1951, and although relations have improved in recent years as China's Catholic population has grown, they remain at odds over which side has the authority to appoint senior clergy.
On Thursday, Chinese Catholics were told to better integrate into the country, adapt to society and benefit the people, according to the official news agency Xinhua.
They should "adhere to the principles of self-administration, run religious affairs independently and guide believers to adhere to the Sinicization path of the religion", said Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee.
China
Lethal Injection
Arkansas
An Arkansas prison system spokesman said Friday the state doesn't have a replacement for a lethal injection drug that's set to expire on New Year's Day, the latest obstacle in the state's effort to resume executions after more than 11 years.
Department of Correction Spokesman Solomon Graves confirmed that the state's supply of potassium chloride - one of three drugs used in lethal injections - expires on Sunday. Graves declined to say whether officials are in the process of finding a replacement.
Arkansas hasn't put an inmate to death since 2005, and executions are on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court considers a request to weigh in on a ruling upholding the state's death penalty law. The state Supreme Court in June reversed a lower court's decision against the execution secrecy law, which requires the Department of Correction to conceal the maker, seller and other information about the drugs. Justices have stayed that ruling while the inmates appeal to the nation's high court.
Death row inmates challenging the law say it could lead to cruel and unusual punishment and that the state reneged on an earlier pledge to share information.
The state's supply of vecuronium bromide expires on March 1, 2018, while its supply of midazolam expires in April 2017. The state announced it received a new supply of the vecuronium bromide in July, days after its previous supply of the drug expired. The drug appears to have been made by a subsidiary of Pfizer, even though the pharmaceutical giant has said it doesn't want its drugs to be used in executions. Using a redacted photo obtained from the Department of Correction, The Associated Press in July matched the new supply of the drug to labels submitted to the National Institutes of Health by Hospira, Inc., which Pfizer bought in 2015.
Arkansas
NYC Institution Closes
Carnegie Deli
For 79 years it reigned as a New York culinary institution: the Carnegie Deli, frequented by locals and visitors for its ginormous sandwiches, and immortalized in the Woody Allen movie "Broadway Danny Rose."
Now, it's closed, relegated to nostalgic photos and memories -- another sign, many say, that America's biggest city is losing its old charms and succumbing to exorbitant property prices and the encroachment of ever more Manhattan hotels.
On its last day, Friday, dozens braved the cold to line up at the 7th Avenue eatery across the street from the famed Carnegie Hall, close to Central Park.
They were determined to get one last bite in the most emblematic of New York's Jewish delicatessens, a place whose walls boast hundreds of old photos of theater stars from nearby Broadway.
The owner of the establishment, Marian Harper, said it had been a very difficult decision to close the deli, which she inherited from her father, who had bought it with a partner in 1976.
Carnegie Deli
In Memory
Tyrus Wong
Tyrus Wong, whose paintings served as visual inspiration for Disney's animated classic "Bambi," died Friday, Dec. 30. He was 106.
Wong was born in China before immigrating to the Bay Area at age 9. From there he went to art school on a scholarship followed by accepting a low-level animation job in 1938. After hearing about Walt Disney's "Bambi" project he put together some paintings of deer in a forest, which impressed Disney enough to use them as inspiration for the film. The animated classic isn't all Wong is known for though, he's also worked on film's like "Rebel Without a Cause, "The Green Berets," and "The Wild Bunch."
In 2001, Wong was named a Disney Legend, and in 2013 he had his artwork featured in the Walt Disney Family Museum. In October of this year Wong received two honors at the Asian World Film Festival. He was awarded with a lifetime achievement award on the opening day with the following day (his 106th birthday) being the screening of the documentary about him titled "Tyrus" directed by Pam Tom.
Wong is survived by his daughters Kim, Kay and Tai-Ling.
Tyrus Wong
In Memory
William Christopher
William Christopher, best known for his role as Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H, has died. He was 84 years old.
Per ABC, the actor passed away from non-lung small cell carcinoma at his home in Pasadena, Calif.
In addition to his 11-season run on M*A*S*H (and later, the short-lived After M*A*S*H), Christopher's TV credits included roles on Hogan's Heroes, Gomer Pyle: USMC and The Love Boat. He also lent his voice on the 1980s Smurfs. He most recently guest-starred on 11 episodes of Days Of Our Lives in 2012.
Christopher leaves behind a wife, Barbara, and two sons, John and Ned.
William Christopher
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